Special Collections

  • Special Collections
    Anonymous author. Hand-stitched pamphlet: “An Elegy upon the fall of 53 men, at Wilton, [N.H.,] September 1773" is an anonymous ballad recounting the occurrence in 1773 of the collapse, during the raising of its frame, of the meetinghouse in Wilton, New Hampshire, the death of five workers, and the…
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    Free Will Baptist roots can be traced to England as early as 1611. In 1780, under the leadership of Benjamin Randall, Free Will Baptists were established in the northeast at New Durham, New Hampshire. Free Will Baptist churches voluntarily organized…
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    David Lockhart of Tenerife, Portoratava, Canary Islands An April 25, 1740 letter written by David Lockhart of Tenerife, Portoratava, Canary Islands sent to John McCarrick and George Simpson. It instructs the two men how to smuggle Canary wine into Massachusetts. The ship Oratavo set sail from…
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    American Poet, whose most famous poem was "The Man With The Hoe" which highlighted laborer's hardships. Two broadsides inscribed in 1929 by Edwin Markham to the Book and Scroll Club of U.N.H.: “Lincoln, the Man of the People” – a poem read at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922 – and “…
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    Author, poet, and composer. Personal letter to Edmund in Jaffrey, NH on Aug. 16, 1918 in which Aiken mentions the delayed delivery of “papers for T.C.R.” and a review of The Jig of Forshlin.
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    American poet, New Hampshire resident and teacher Two-page letter and accompanying poem, “Forest Flowers,” from Robert Frost to Miss Myrtle Raitt at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire, where Frost had previously taught. There is also a fourteen-page typed transcription of an untitled essay…
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    Resident of Sharon, New Hampshire This 1847 dance caller’s 40 page manuscript book contains many well-known old dances, including Portland Fancy, Fishers Hornpipe, Tom and Jerry, Chorus Jig, and Hull’s Victory.
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    Emlyn Metcalf Gill, born in Walpole, N.H., was a sportman and writer. Five letters written by Emlyn Gill. Gill wrote three of the letters to Eugene V. Connett, sports writer and founder of the Derrydale Press. They rail against “worm fishing” and present a case for dry-fly fishing as opposed to wet…
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    Blacksmith of New Portland, Me. The account book documents the day-to-day life of a country blacksmith – noting everything from shoeing horses to repairing organs. Dennis recorded charges and payments for his work, household accounts and expenditures, and the salaries of hired laborers. The inside…
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    Local historian and genealogist of Newfields, N.H. Fifteen page typescript history of Newfields, N.H. read by Harry K. Torrey at the Newfields town hall in August 1949.
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    Herbalist and doctor of Concord, N.H. Illustrated broadside sent by Dr. O.C. Gage of Concord, N.H. to Alex W. Young. The broadside contains information pertaining to Gage’s practice, examples of his “miraculous” herbal cures and words of comfort to the 'suffering, wearied, anxious and despairing'.
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    This 50 page journal, primarily covering the years 1843-1844, contains entries on women’s rights and the works of the poet John Keats. In the back are genealogies of Eli Demerit(t) (1696) and Nathaniel Young (1794), suggesting that perhaps the author…
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    Professor and biologist, retired in Durham, NH 1972. The Jackson Estuarine Laboratory is named for his father, C. Floyd Jackson. The four field notebooks (Nov. 1971-Nov. 1995) concern the operation of the sailboats WAH-WHO I and II in New Hampshire’s…
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    Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) was a clergyman, Princeton University professor of English literature, and sports writer. Four (4) letters from angling author Henry Van Dyke to Eugene V. Connett, sports writer and founder of the Derrydale Press. The letters primarily concern Van Dyke’s commitments to…
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    The Reverend Alvan Tobey was born in Wilmington, VT on April 1, 1808 and graduated from Amherst College in 1828 and at Andover Seminary in 1831. He succeeded the Rev. Robert Page at the Congregational Church in Durham, NH and began preaching there on…
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    Illustrator and author of children’s books; her home in Mason, N.H. served as a model for many of her illistrations. Two letters written by Elizabeth Orton Jones with negatives and preliminary sketches for a 1957 painting commissioned by U.N.H. in honor of Charlotte Thompson. The letters, one to…
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    Epsom is a New Hampshire town in Merrimack County. 1860 Epsom, N.H. tax list that documents the various amounts paid by non-resident land owners for Epsom’s annual tax assessment.
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    New Hampshire town Bristol, New Hampshire post office directory listing names of residents presumably renting post office boxes.
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    Agent for the Boston and Maine Railroad at Pike Station, Alton, New Hampshire. The letter press books track John L. Davis’s correspondence from December 1899 to August of 1907. In 1901, he and his wife moved from Haverhill, New Hampshire to Alton, New Hampshire and he began work as the Alton…
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    Louis V. Ledoux, author and poet, was born in New York City in 1880. He wrote several books of poetry and prose and was a recognized authority on Japanese prints. Ledoux died in New York in 1948. Letter written Jan. 27, 1911 by Louis Ledoux which both…
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    School register kept by Emily E. Tomlinson, a teacher in Newington, N.H., during the year 1872. New Hampshire school register: for the school in district no. 1 in the town of Newington, county of Rockingham. The register documents student attendance and the class curriculum for the year 1872.
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    Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982) was an American poet, writer and the Librarian of Congress. He is associated with the modernist school of poetry. He received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work. Two letters written in 1970 by Archibald MacLeish from…
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    Isaac Royall Jr. (1719-1781) of Medford MA was a sugar plantation owner, slaveholder, and early funder of the Harvard Law School. Dr. Simon Tufts Jr. (1726-1786) of Medford MA was one of a prominant family of doctors. Receipt given to Isaac Royall on August 6, 1777 by Simon Tufts for turning in…
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    Harlan Fiske Stone, lawyer, professor, Attorney General of the United States, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was born in Chesterfield, NH in 1872. He was admitted to the bar in 1898, taught law at Columbia University, and later served as Dean of the University’s School of Law from 1910 to…
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    D. W. Allen was a Dover, New Hampshire dentist. 1842 broadside advertising the visit of Dover, N.H.-based dentist D.W. Allen to Wentworth, N.H. in 1842. The broadside describes services offered by Dr. Allen, as well as providing the prices for some of his more routine operations.
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    Although the specific creator of this scrapbook is not known, individuals whose work appears in it include Nathaniael Appleton Haven (1790-1826) and Oliver William Bourn Peabody (1799-1848). Scrapbook pertaining to exercises held in Portsmouth, NH on May 21, 1823, “the two hundredth anniversary of…
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    Thomas Bailey Aldrich was a New Hampshire-born author, poet and editor. His most noteable works are The Story of a Bad Boy and An Old Town By The Sea. Four letters written by Thomas Bailey Aldrich to his good friend and his wife’s obstetrician, Dr…
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    Levi Woodbury (1789-1851) was born in Francestown, NH. He was was Secretary of the U.S. Treasury 1834-1841. His political career included: Governor of NH 1823-24, Speaker of the NH House of Representatives 1825, U.S. Senator 1825-31, U.S. Secretary of Navy 1831-34, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury…
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    An unidentified artist. Two notebooks of sketches done in pencil by an unidentified artist. The sketches, some of which are identified, primarily detail scenes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
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    Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, 1926-1948. Scrapbook kept by John Thomson Dallas during his trip to Japan May 27 to June 20, 1936. It documents Bishop Dallas’s travels and activities in Japan and includes photographs, postcards, telegrams, and letters, as well as programs from events staged in…
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    Eight page typed pamphlet and original minutes documenting the proceedings of the New Hampshire Christian Conference held at Durham, May 25, 1832. Also included is an 1839 resolution of the Conference to establish “an Academy of a strictly literary character” in Durham.
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    Henry Wilson, author, United States Senator and Vice-President was born in Farmington, NH in 1812. In 1855 he was elected to the United States Senate, and in 1872 he was nominated for Vice-President on the Republican ticket – a position he held until his death in 1875. Wilson devoted his career to…
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    Benjamin Abbot (1762-1849) headmaster of Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, N.H.) Three page letter written by Benjamin Abbot to his brother, the Reverend Abiel Abbot. In the letter Benjamin Abbot disagrees with his brother’s opposition to capital punishment.
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    Exeter is one of the earliest towns in Rockingham County, NH. Two Exeter, NH deeds, one of which details land sold by the Trustees of Phillips Exeter Academy to Jedidiah Lakeman (1792), while the other documents property sold by Samuel Rust to James Rundlett (1796).
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    Ida C. Humphrey was born in Dec. 1854. She did not marry or have children. Four page letter written by Ida C. Humphrey from Camp Diamond, Diamond Ponds, Stewartstown, NH to Addie W. Paul of Newfield, N.H. The letter describes Humphrey’s stay at Camp Diamond, including her accommodations and…
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    William Abbot was born in 1773. He was a Harvard University graduate (1797) and attorney-at-law in Castine and Bangor, Me. A three page letter written by William Abbot to his cousin, Abiel Abbot. The letter is primarily a biography of William A. Abbot (1748-1793) of Wilton, N.H., member of the N.H…
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    Frederick Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), the son of Stephen Parrish, was born in 1870 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1892-1894. In 1898, he purchased “The Oaks”, an estate in Plainfield, NH and became a member of the flourishing artist community in nearby Cornish, N.H.…
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    John W. Dudley was born 7 April 1841 in Flemming, Kentucky, and died 9 Oct. 1921 in the same place. His parents were John Dudley (Sr.) and Adalin Ringo. Four letters from Dr. J.W. Dudley to his mother that span a three-week period, June 3-24, 1906. The letters describe Dudley’s convalescence from…
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    Herbert David Croly, 1869-1930, founder and editor of the "New Republic". Five letters written by Herbert Croly to Charlotte Rudyard. The letters are personal in nature, and in them Croly frequently mentions affairs at the New Republic. There is also a postcard from Louise Croly to Rudyard, as well…
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    Annie Adams Fields, author and wife of James T. Fields, was born in Boston, MA in 1834. She traveled extensively with her husband and formed intimate friendships with some of America’s most well-known 19th century writers and intellectuals. She died in 1915, having outlived many of her…
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    Jessie Evens lived from 1867-1937. “Birthday Ode” written by Jessie Evans to celebrate the one hundredth birthday of Sister Myra Green of Canterbury Shaker Village on March 9, 1935. Words without music to tune of "Auld Lang Syne”.
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    Daniel Webster (1782-1852) was an American lawyer who served in the governments of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Speech of the Hon. Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, at the dinner given to him by the merchants and other citizens of Philadelphia, December 2, 1846. Published in 1847 in Washington…
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    James T. Fields (1817-1881), author, poet, and publisher, was born in Portsmouth, NH in 1817. At the age of fourteen, he became a clerk in a bookstore in Boston, MA and later a partner in the publishing house of Ticknor and Fields. He edited the Atlantic Monthly, which was published by his firm,…
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    Author and literary critic. Known for the Christmas story Christmas Every Day. Letter written by William Dean Howells that thanks Dr. Perkins for sending medicine and asks him to send more. Photograph included.
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    W.S. Braithwaite (1878-1962) was a writer, poet and literary critic. From 1906 to 1931 he contributed to The Boston Evening Transcript, eventually becoming its literary editor. He also wrote articles, reviews and poetry for many other periodicals and journals, including Atlantic Monthly, the New…
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    Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber, humorist, newspaperman, and poet, was born in Portsmouth, NH in 1814. He moved to Boston, MA in 1833, where he became a journeyman printer. He worked as a printer and editor of several papers, including the Carpet Bag, a…
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    Martin Snow, Civil War sailor, was born in Boston, Mass. in 1839 and died in Blair, Neb. in 1891. He married Caroline Augusta Barker in 1860 and was buried in Pittsfield, N.H., where he once lived and where his daughter, Lena Snow Sargent, resided. Contains a 92-page diary kept by Martin Snow from…
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    Amy Lowell (1874-1925) was a poet, biographer, and essayist who owned a summer home in Dublin, N.H. near the MacDowell Artist's Colony. One page letter (1917) written by Amy Lowell to poet and editor, William Stanley Braithwaite. Lowell describes her lecturing and speaking engagements in N.Y. City…
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    Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, author and editor, was born in Newport, N.H. in 1788. She married in 1813, and when her husband died suddenly in 1822, she began writing to make a living. Her stories and poems attracted a large audience, and in 1828 she…
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    The creator of this register is anonymous. A register from an unidentified Portsmouth, N.H.-based shipping company which serviced both the Appledore and Oceanic Hotels on the Isles of Shoals. The register, which covers from July 2 to September 3, 1912, documents the movement of people and cargo…